Rapamycin increases breast tumor burden in young wheel-running mice.

Rapamycin is an immunosuppressive and anti-cancer drug recently shown to enhance healthy aging in animal models. Regular physical exercise is associated with healthy aging and reduced risk of age-related diseases, such as cancer. In order to test the combined effect of these approaches, mice with 4T1 breast cancer were fed rapamycin at 14 ppm and allowed access to voluntary running wheels. After 17 days of treatment, mice fed the rapamycin diet that ran showed a significant increase in tumor burden compared with mice that did not run (P = 0.017). Not only does this have implications for young breast cancer patients, but suggests that combining rapamycin and exercise as an anti-aging strategy at a young age might be contraindicated.

An Ultra-Wideband Frequency System for Non-Destructive Root Imaging.

Understanding the root system architecture of plants as they develop is critical for increasing crop yields through plant phenotyping, and ultra-wideband imaging systems have shown potential as a portable, low-cost solution to non-destructive imaging root system architectures. This paper presents the design, implementation, and analysis of an ultra-wideband imaging system for use in imaging potted plant root system architectures. The proposed system is separated into three main subsystems: a Data Acquisition module, a Data Processing module, and an Image Processing and Analysis module. The Data Acquisition module consists of simulated and experimental implementations of a non-contact synthetic aperture radar system to measure ultra-wideband signal reflections from concealed scattering objects in a pot containing soil. The Data Processing module is responsible for interpreting the measured ultra-wideband signals and producing an image using a delay-and-sum beamforming algorithm. The Image Processing and Analysis module is responsible for improving image quality and measuring root depth and average root diameter in an unsupervised manner. The Image Processing and Analysis module uses a modified top-hat transformation alongside quantization methods based on energy distributions in the image to isolate the surface of the imaged root. Altogether, the proposed subsystems are capable of imaging and measuring concealed taproot system architectures with controlled soil conditions; however, the performance of the system is highly dependent on knowledge of the soil conditions. Smaller roots in difficult imaging conditions require future work into understanding and compensating for unwanted noise. Ultimately, this paper sought to provide insight into improving imaging quality of ultra-wideband (UWB) imaging systems for plant root imaging for other works to be followed.